Could it really be that simple? Can we really reduce our stress by practicing what is known as “mindful walking” each day? Researchers from Charité University in Berlin set out to study this, comparing a group of people participating in a mindful walking program with a group of people who went about their stressful lives thinking they were on a waiting list for the walking … [Read more...]
Interesting Thoughts On How Living Outside Might Reset Your Internal Clock
I remember back in 2014 being fascinated when I read a true account of Jill Neimark's journey back to life after being left incapacitated by a devastating environmental illness. How did she do it? She lived outdoors by camping in a state forest. Her recovery seemed in part due to exposure to natural sunlight, clean food, and fresh air free from toxins but also due to connecting … [Read more...]
Don’t Flush! Keep the Wipes Out of the Pipes!
Those “flushable wipes” create havoc in sewers! The water and sewer agency for our Nation’s Capital (Washington D.C. Suburban Sanitary Commission) is just one of countless utilities around the country pleading with customers to stop flushing wipes down their toilets. During the Great Toilet Paper Shortage of 2020, people started using “flushable wipes” more than … [Read more...]
Have You Lost Sleep Wondering How Your Children and Grandchildren Will Be Affected by Climate Change?
“Americans are noticing changes all around them. Summers are longer and hotter, and extended periods of unusual heat last longer than any living American has ever experienced. Winters are generally shorter and warmer. Rain comes in heavier downpours. People are seeing changes in the length and severity of seasonal allergies, the plant varieties that thrive in their gardens, and … [Read more...]
Old Family Cookbooks: A Time Machine Back to Your Grandmother’s Kitchen
I love old family cookbooks. Somehow as each great aunt or grandmother passed away, another cookbook would end up on our shelves. Each old cookbook is stuffed with all sorts of extra recipes clipped from newspapers, magazines, and even canned food labels, plus there are many, many carefully copied recipes from friends and relatives. I’m drawn to the cookbooks, not so much … [Read more...]
Walking Can Be Very Good For Your Brain
I love reading scientific reports, something I’ve done since my first job out of college. I realize they can be a little dry for most people, so I’m sharing a secret. Scientific reports sometimes remind me of listening to comedians winding up a joke with a deadpan anecdote followed by a punchline that touches upon a human concern that makes us laugh as we self-consciously admit … [Read more...]
E.P.A. Files Show Agency’s Approval of Potentially Toxic Fracking Chemicals
“The E.P.A. in 2011 approved the use of these chemicals, used to ease the flow of oil from the ground, despite the agency’s own grave concerns about their toxicity, according to the documents, which were reviewed by The New York Times.” Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) has been leading the charge against fracking for years. In 2019 PSR collaborated with … [Read more...]
Many of us have already won the lottery, we just haven’t realized it…
Even those of us with modest means are living a life that countless people around the world only dream about. When you think about it, you may just realize that you already live like a lottery winner compared to so many people who struggle to have the basics like food, clean water, sanitation, education, and at least basic healthcare. According to The World Bank, nearly half … [Read more...]
My Grandmother’s Kitchen Knife
My grandmother was born in 1905 and except for a brief time when my grandfather worked in a Detroit factory during World War II, Anna lived her entire life in the Dakotas. I was raised mostly in Texas suburbs and on family visits was always mesmerized by her “old ways” of doing things. On a tiny property in Foxholm, North Dakota, Anna raised and butchered her own … [Read more...]
Calm Your Mind to Fill Your Heart
Walking on a beach, or anywhere in Nature, can be an exercise in meditation. It doesn't take special preparation except to be in the moment--which isn't necessarily easy. For many of us, just finding a few minutes of quiet can be difficult. I've only recently downsized to a place where I frequently visit the beach pictured here. Each time I walk the path over the dunes to … [Read more...]